guess. so now he's talking about possibly delaying chuck hagel's nomination. and also wayne lapierre. this is very important. because if you look at the profiles of all the people that committed these mass murders in newtown and aurora and across -- virginia tech, they are all hispanic drug gang leaders. and that's exactly what wayne lapierre said in an op-ed that americans need to buy guns because those latin americans are coming to america, and they're going to kill you people. this is who a lot of republicans in congress are thinking about falling off -- don't do it. don't hurt our party anymore. let wayne lapierre go wherever he wants to go. he's going to destroy the party. we're going to talk about the crazy op-ed has horrible for our party's image, horrible for the conservative movement's image, goes against everything ronald reagan stood for. we'll talk about that in a minute. first, breaking news. this is bizarre. the feel-good story of the olympic games involved in possibly murder. >> this was a total jaw-dropper this morning. oscar pistorius, for those people who don't know, is a

, mike bloomberg's group, that showed that group of wayne lapierre of the nra support of background checks in 1999. because the debate was so much further to the left back then, the nra was under pressure just seemed to be moderate and support some forms of gun control, such as background checks. there's a report from that time that wayne lapierre threatened to quit the nra if they didn't support some kind of control such as background checks. that's helped them win more elections in red states and people like harry reid get elected in nevada, a pretty pro-gun state. the question is, is that going to be productive for people who want to see gun control get passed? will this mean an increased prag ma tichl, mean that the issue has a better chance of getting through? >> and what's the answer to that question? do we know? >> i don't have a crystal ball, but if you talk to people who support gun control, they have been beaten down for a long time, losing consistently for 20 years will do that to you. and they feel better than they ever have. there is, as you know, a lot of momentum behi

. wayne lapierre, appearing with chris wallace over the weekend, talking about what he believes is the president's stance that he's not being public about. take a listen. >> they leafletted the country with flyers like this, obama's not going to take your gun, obama will protect gun rights, and now he's trying to take away all three. i mean, what they'll do is they'll turn this universal check on the law-abiding into a universal registry of law-abiding people and law-abiding people don't want that. >> sir, it seems to be that wayne lapierre has come out against any type of reform in any general direction that's been discussed so far. when it comes to the second amendment and as someone who has suffered at the hands of an accidental gunshot, what are your feelings about how the left can be better communicating the fact that while support of the second amendment is universal, there needs to be some control of the guns in this country when it comes to the current regulation. >> well, it's interesting because i also saw a clip of mr. wayne lapierre over the weekend where he was speakin

nra's chief executive, wayne lapierre, continued his spirited defense of gun rights this weekend. speaking with fox news's chris wallace about that controversial nra ad that brought the president's children into the gun debate. >> the president's kids are safe, and we're all thankful for it. >> they also face a threat that most children do not face. >> tell that to the people of newtown. tell that -- >> you really think that the president's children are the same kind of target as every schoolchild in america? that's ridiculous and you know it, sir. >> you know, unfortunately, i think there are parents all over the school that -- all over the country that think their kids are entitled to the same amount of protection when they go to school. >> so they should have secret service? >> no, but what they should have is police officers or certified armed security in those schools to keep people safe. >> you talk -- one of the points of that ad that i want to ask you about is you made it a class argument. the rich, the elite. >> sure. >> they have bodyguards. they have security. >> sure.

. >> so wayne lapierre is talking about the second amendment to the constitution there, and he is kind of correct. in this country we have a constitutional right to bear arms. the second amendment is 27 words long, quote, a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed there is a lot of debate about what kind of arms the second amendment refers to and exactly what a well regulated militia is. but it is clear one of the things the founders wanted people to be able to do is to protect themselves from the government, government overreach. and this is a fact of american life that the most liberal of liberals or progressive of progressives simply can't deny. the constitution protects this right. here is the deal. for the past 48 hours, we've been watching a horrifying story unfold in los angeles. a frightening case study in what happens when someone decides to bastardize those rights and to use those second amendment rights to create chaos. >> this is a blue alert broadcast on a 187 suspect, forme

. >> this could be another new problem for some moderate voter, wayne lapierre, he runs the nra. i want to read you a snippet of this op-ed piece. "after hurricane sandy we saw the hellish world that the gun prohibitionists see as their utopia, looters ran wild in south brooklyn." didn't happen. "there was food, water, electricities, hurricanes, tornadoes, riots, terrorists, gangs, lone criminals, these are perils we are sure to face. not just maybes. it's not paranoia to buy a gun, it's survival, responsible behavior and it's time we encourage law-abiding americans to do just that." many including joe scarborough said the op-ed was laced with "racial overtones" among other things. what is wayne lapierre doing for the republican party? >> wayne lapierre is representing his organization. whether he's trying to fold into his organization. >> long identified with the gop. >> there's a difference between the nra and the rnc. he's doing what he's paid to do and representing it. the nice thing the democrats are doing are lopping the two groups together so i do understand that he's long supported

proposals but it's an uphill climb. this weekend, nra president wayne lapierre insisted universal background checks will not work and claimed the president is against the second amendment. >> during the campaign when he said to people i will not take away your rifle, shotgun, hand gun, they leafletted the country with flyers like this, obama's not going to take your gun, obama will protect gun rights, and now he's trying to take away all three. i don't think you can trust -- >> senate majority leader harry reid says he hopes gun legislation will come out of the judiciary committee but he was noncommittal over whether he would sign an assault weapons ban. >> would you vote for it? >> frankly, she knows, i haven't read her amendment, i didn't vote for the assault weapons last time because it didn't make sense but i'll take a look at it. >> i will bring in "washington post" columnist ruth marcus and senior staff writer for "the hill" alex bolton. good monday morning to both of you. ruth, this is the president's first big sell to the american people. what do you think he needs to say

high-value targets and addresses random thoughts to people like hillary clinton and wayne lapierre. with me now, we have miguel almageur. i want to start with you, miguel. where are we? >> christopher dorner's vehicle was found in big bear, three hours outside of los angeles. that is where a lot of police activity is going on. certainly not the only police activity but officers are focused in that snowy mountain region three hours outside of los angeles. officers on the scene said they found footprints near christopher dorner's burned out vehicle but it lead know where they are not even sure if he is in that area. they believe he may be in a different vehicle. so officers and certainly the community -- many communities all across this region remain on edge as there has been no sign of dorner for some 24 hours, thomas. >> what are they telling people in big bear and southern california in general? >> well, it's interesting because the schools up in big bear have been closed for the day but the ski resorts where there are certainly many, many tourists, those remain opened. they have told f

amendment. >> has the nra changed their position on this? because wayne lapierre is now saying universal background checks don't work. i saw this testimony he gave in 1999 to the house judiciary committee and he said, quote, we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. no loopholes for anyone. >> the answer is yes, the nra has changed their position. the reason it's changed their position is because the system doesn't work. the system is not working now. we have to get that working before we can add any more checks to that system. it's already overburdened. in colorado, it takes ten days to do an instant check. >> you're saying if it got working, if the existing laws started to be improved, you might support the imposition? >> i don't know. let's get it working. let's make sure the 23 states that aren't reporting the names of people who are mentally ill and have violent tendencies, let's get them reported into the system. >> i don't understand why you can't do both. the reality is, yes, 60% of sales require a

would include universal background checks. as we've heard from nra's wayne lapierre that is something that they are not for, in fact the nra has gone so far as to say it's in the in support of any restrictions at all whatsoever on guns. martha,. martha: we know that the president, kelly is going to run into headwinds even with democrats in congress on this issue. what is his plan to try to get it through? >> reporter: i think we are seeing that plan start taking shape today with his trip to minneapolis. the president will likely continue these campaign-style stops at various cities that have been plagued with gun control, minneapolis being one of them and already taking action of course to deal with this gun control problem, the gun violence in that city. the president will continue to push for this. he will not try to introduce any legislation himself, he wants congress to do that e wants congress to step up to the table and go ahead and offer some of its plans that he has in place. the president would like to see congress act or enact a ban on assault weapons, high kpwas te capacity

wayne lapierre of the nra. these were very emotional hearings over this weekend. what do you want to talk to them about on sunday, chris? >> well, i guess, you know, look, every day you guys, because you cover it every day, there is another act of violence. another person who, you know, walks into a school, walks into a mall, walks into a work place, and starts shooting it up. you know, really? can we do nothing about it? is it impossible to? i don't know that i know necessarily what the answer is, whether it is more background checks. whether it is better mental health. the president obviously refused to call out his friend on in hollywood about all the violence and videogames and movies. can we, is it possible, and i hope, and in expanded you know, half an hour of fox news sunday, the first half hour when we talk to the two guests is it possible to find any common ground, sensible solutions? i know lapierre will never go for an assault weapons ban which kelly wants and obviously other people want but is there some common ground on guns, on mental health, on the culture we live in t

. this caller is plugged into what wayne lapierre is talking about. he thinks the president has a secret agenda that will end up with the confiscation of guns and the takeover of towns and neighborhoods and our country. that is ridiculous. of steps opinion is out with gun owners in this country. host: from twitter -- as one of the sponsors of the assault weapons ban of 2013, tells about the exemptions. guest: i encourage anybody who has this question to go and read the assault weapons ban that we introduced some weeks ago. that bill actually lists several thousand weapons that would not be illegal under the law. that is not an includes a list. it is just a set of examples of weapons, over 10,000 weapons, that would still be available to individuals. the assault weapons ban says that a gun that has a detachable clip and another military feature like a pistol grip, that would be reserved for military usage. the thousands of weapons today that are used largely for hunting and sports shooting would still be available that is a really good resource. i cannot recite chapter and verse every gun

sensible gun control, background checks and the like is wayne lapierre, whenever he goes on the air, i think he illustrates just how radical and crazy this wing of the nra is. i don't think that represents the actual view of the majority of nra members. >> it does not. >> i don't know, i don't know. >> mika, 80% of nra members support universal background checks. a majority of nra members support getting rid of these high capacity magazines. i'm telling you the overwhelming majority of nra members are hunters and people that want to support -- >> double the price and making them sell out. >> the survivalist wing of the nra. >> there's a lot of them. >> you say there's a lot of them. >> a lot of gun owners and people buying guns. people want their second amendment rights. the clash -- we're kind of not having the right conversation. this has to be about common sense gun safety and live and breathe in memories of people who died not just chicago or newtown and the last decade or so. we're too caught in wayne lapierre and rhetoric, to me nra is about buying and selling guns, not about sec

, this is very, very big news. obviously, wayne lapierre, who's a guy that i -- i support the second amendment. i think maybe they should ship him to france for a couple years. >> i think he hurt the movement. i think it's made it easier to sit there and say, wait a minute, whose side do you want to be on? they've been bad spokespeople on this front. it has made it easier for a tom coburn, who by the way is probably going to be the lynch pin here. schumer has been negotiating with him. they want to get coburn as a co-spon ssor on the background check. >> diane feinstein, chuck schumer. these people, they cannot push the republicans in any direction whatsoever. but wayne lapierre's mistakes, mika, week after week after week, his horrific performance on fox -- >> every single one was a cringer. >> the stupid thing they did with their gun app that little kids could play. on the month anniversary of the sandy hook slaughter. the commercial going after the president's kids. wayne lapierre did more to damage the nra than any democrat or liberal could ever do. >> he totally did. i can't ima

popular culture. >>> the problems between the nra and white house continue today with wayne lapierre slamming the president. >> well, the same thing during the campaign when he said i will not take away your rifles, shotgun, handgun. they leafletted the country with fliers like this, obama is not going to take your gun, obama will protect gun rights. and now he's trying to take away all three. >> the white house disputes that assertion, and it comes just as the president is about to head to minnesota to talk gun control tomorrow. joining me now with more on all of this, nbc news white house correspondent peter alexander. first of all, why minnesota? >> it's a good question. the white house has made it very clear this, of course, is the first trip for the president. they say there will be others. vice president biden has been to virginia already, pushing their anti-gun violence efforts. minnesota, minneapolis specifically has some relevance here. it was only last september where a gunman killed six people including himself in a workplace shooting. it is a state that has a longtime culture of g

that wayne lapierre said last night in salt lake city. take a listen. >> but i've been amazed, just amazed at how rapidly this debate deteriorated from what has proven to work to what has proven to be the political agenda of those bent on attacking the second amendment to our constitution. dianne feinstein herself commented she's had the gun ban legislation in her desk for over a year waiting for the right time to introduce it. really? >> do gun rights activists like yourself still take that guy seriously? >> well, i think that gun rights, people take the second amendment seriously. >> that wasn't the question seriously. do you still take wayne lapierre seriously? is he still an effective spokesman pore gun rights activists like yourself? >> i think that's a question that's really beside the point. the question should be, in my opinion, what can be done that realistically would make a difference in not having these horrible situations like we saw with those children being murdered, and i think it's -- it's three prongs. it is certainly more capability to know who is buying these gun

for anyone. >> so that's wayne lapierre, head of the nra, saying something different back then than he is saying today about universal background checks. what's the response you've heard and do you think that something that people didn't know? >> people love that ad because it reminded them that checking everyone's background for guns is common sense. we check 100% of the people who get on a plane. we shouldn't check 60% of the people who get a gun. the nra believed that. the nra should agree with that. and the nra should not be in charge of this debate. >> thank you so much, mayor. again, president obama visiting your city today. appreciate your time. we'll be right back. have diabe. i felt like my feet were going to sleep. it was like pins and needles sticking in your toes and in your feet. it progressed from there to burning like i was walking on hot coals. at that point, i knew i had to do something. when i went to see my doctor, she chose lyrica. once i started taking the lyrica, the pain started subsiding. [ female announcer ] it's known that diabetes damages nerves. lyrica is

a lot of its political heft. you know, wayne lapierre has spoken the last couple of days with the kind of hate and fear that clearly consumes him but also con sines tsigns the nra a organization to the political fringe of this national debate. and certainly, he no longer speaks for many nra members, no longer speaks for the majority of gun owners, and that's a fundamental difference as well. so i think the sense of urgency has been maintained and sustained. the momentum is there. the judiciary committee's going to mark up a bill. in other words, frame the final language of the bill next month if not this month. and those votes will occur on the floor of the senate, i hope and believe, because the president's absolutely right. those families, the victims, the first responders, all americans deserve a vote. >> in terms of the way that the president phrased that in that repetitive cadence that he had that was so moving but also very specific saying these deserve a vote, deserve a vote, deserve a vote, and he went out of his way to say if you want to vote no that's okay but we ought t

long time, that wayne lapierre not only is out of the mainstream, but he's out of touch with his own membership, with the nra, which is to say when he says that nobody wants universal background checks and then you look at the numbers, and it's something like 90% of americans want them, there is a desire for some measures. not extreme to go take their guns away, but there is a desire in this country, not just from democrats and liberals, but from americans as we saw there to do something about guns. >> the numbers have shifted dramatically, john heilemann. like they haven't shifted in recent history. and last night there was a special election. it was in a democratic seat to replace jesse jackson. a lot of people are scoffing about it. conservatives immediately because michael bloomberg went in. there was a candidate that was in a competitive race who was supported by the nra. bloomberg came in. and it changed everything overnight. >> he did. and he spent, i believe, $2 million on that race in a media market like chicago in a race at this level, $2 million is a lot of money. it's a l

nra scaring, listen to wayne lapierre this morning on fox news using some scary language to talk about guns. >> we are all obsessed with the taliban and we ought to be. what about these gangs that are ruining neighborhoods. we need a federal task force, if it takes 500 agents, 1,000 agents, go into chicago. >> now chicago is the taliban, right? this feels like fear. >> it's an interesting thing. actually, i wouldn't be surprised if a lot of low income residents agreed with that. look, we want more law enforcement, we want this to be treated as a national emergency. maybe not with the same language. put 1,000 agents on the street of chicago, a lot of people might be in favor of that. >> weren't they away from the international treaty like that. you have to realize when he's talking, this is a guy whose main directive is to make more gun sales. slate had an article 300 million guns, shotguns for sporting. there's a diminishing return of sales there. now the big market is in the sort of vicarious fake military guy. that is where the market is growing. people buying assault weapons l